The invention pertains to conveyors and more particularly to a recirculating or closed loop conveyor having both horizontal and inclined portions.
In, for example, a baggage reclaim or air-side collection carousel, the capacity to hold and recirculate accumulated baggage is an asset. It is desirable to provide as much accumulation as possible for a given carousel size One solution is to increase the width of the recirculating conveyor from which baggage is ultimately collected. This is why many such systems are designed to be about as wide as two suitcases. However, in a purely horizontal conveyor, the extra width imposes an inconvenience to those wishing to lift baggage from the interior edge. This inconvenience is addressed by filly inclined recirculating conveyors which are seen, for example, in international baggage reclaim areas. In these systems the entire moving surface of the carousel is inclined or tilted by about 25 degrees. In this way, baggage is urged toward the exterior edge by gravity. The disadvantages of the inclined carousel stem from the presence of a lip or bumper peripheral to the moving surface. First, baggage must be lifted up and over the bumper. For baggage handling staff, this is a considerable imposition Second, the pressure exerted by an upper bag onto a lower one makes removal all the more difficult, particularly when the lower bag""s handle is trapped against the bumper or the upper bag.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveyor which goes at least some way towards overcoming or at least minimizing the prior art problems or limitations outlined above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conveyor which has the accumulation and access of an inclined carousel and the baggage lifting ease of a horizontal carousel.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a conveyor having horizontal, tilted and transition sections.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a conveyor having a moving surface comprising flat plates that overlap, which plates are horizontal in some portions of the conveyor and which are tilted in at least one other portion of the conveyor, the conveyor also having transition portions.
These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent from the following descriptions and drawings.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a conveyor having a moving surface comprising a plurality of overlapping flat plates disposed across the conveyor transversely to the direction of travel of the moving surface, wherein throughout the route of the conveyor surface the plates in at least one location are disposed transversely inclined across the conveyor at an angle to the horizontal whereby discrete articles being transported on the conveyor surface are urged to move under gravity towards the lower side of the transversely inclined locations of the conveyor and in at least one other location the plates are disposed horizontally across the conveyor, with transition zones in-between, and wherein a raised sidewall is disposed adjacent but spaced from the conveyor surface along the lower side of the transversely inclined locations of the conveyor.